Morton Street

The Morton Street panhandler is back

adamg — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 18:39:55 +0000

Robbie Felder, the omnipresent Mattapan panhandler whose disappearance a few months back sparked rumors he was dead, is back slowly walking up and down Morton Street, quietly asking for money.

On a Facebook page set up to discuss the man who has been a familiar sight for years as he walks from one side of Blue Hill Avenue to the other, people report he is looking better after his time in rehab. However, one person who saw him tweeted he wasn't looking too hot today.

Morton Street beggar not dead, in rehab

adamg — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 02:43:40 +0000

The rumor spread like wildfire tonight: Robbie Felder, who has spent much of the past decade shuffling up and down Morton Street asking for handouts, was dead.

Not true, counter people who say they know his family: Nobody's seen the white-bearded guy recently on Morton Street by Blue Hill Avenue because he's in rehab.

The story unfolded on his Facebook fan page (yes, of course, he has a Facebook fan page):

PEOPLE ARE SOO IGG FAMILY HAS STATED THT MR.BOBBY IS ALIVE AND DOING WELL HIS SO CALLED FANS ARE STILL DECLEARING HIM DEAD AND FOR THOSE WHO CALL HIM A BUM AKA BUMB MR. FELDER ATTEND MORNING STAR BAP CHURCH EVERY SUNDAY I CAN SPEAK FOR THAT HOW MANY BUMBS DO YOU NO WHO ATTEND CHURCH SERVICES PEOPLE GET A LIFE

MBTA bus in crash at Boston's worst intersection

adamg — Sat, 29 May 2010 23:29:28 +0000

The Globe reports 14 people were injured in a crash this evening between an MBTA bus and a minivan at Gallivan Boulevard and Morton Street. The one saving grace: There's a fire station right there.

Behaviorial assessment: The guy in the middle of Morton Street

adamg — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 04:11:24 +0000

Anybody who's ever driven down Morton Street in Mattapan knows the white-bearded guy who shuffles up and down the middle of the street by Blue Hill Avenue. Our own eeka reports that for some continuing-ed class, she did "a functional behavioral assessment" on him:

... The function of waving seems to be attract positive attention from other individuals. The purpose might also be to avoid the negative interactions that are often aimed toward people who are perceived as not having a job; it does seem that everyone in the area knows of this person and many seem to find him charming – while at the same time feeling a bit exasperated that he is behaving unsafely. This latter perception might in fact be a product of his waving, and the fact that people find him friendly might mean that they are more likely to avoid him and wish him well rather than finding him annoying and trying to run him off the road. It seems to be an adaptive response that he responds in a friendly/apologetic manner to cars honking at him, rather than a reactive manner that is more likely to start an altercation. ...

T bus in multi-vehicle crash by Franklin Park in JP

adamg — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:51:01 +0000

At the rotary, around 7 a.m., Joyce Linehan tweets.